Gone for the Winter
by xoxoPrincess.Ai
Summary: DerekxCasey. The Venturi-McDonald family take a vacation to the Caribbeans, complete with a temporary house and private beach!
1. Far Away from Canada

So, I was just looking through a clothing catalogue from a store I recently went to, and there were a lot of pictures with a beach in it… and I REALLY miss summer, so I thought I'd write a summer story! Enjoy.

Gone for the Winter

Chapter 1: Far Away from Canada

_A Life With Derek fanfiction by MissAnniee._

* * *

Derek's POV.

-

I laid back, relishing my time in the warmth and stretching out my legs from the long airplane ride. I felt the sun warm my face and the tiny grains of white sand lightly massaging my aching feet.

So, where am I you ask? Why, the Caribbean, of course!

While all my other friends are stuck back in Canada freezing to death in below-freezing weather, I'm in between North and South America, enjoying the glorious humid climate and still increasingly hot temperatures.

I yawned, and I realized that all this relaxing and not studying is making me sleepy… and a little hungry. I adjusted my swim trunks and sat up on the sand-coated towel in one motion, only slightly stirring the flawless white-sand beach.

I have to keep myself awake somehow…

_And there are no beach babes here… this is, after all, a private beach. Oh well._ With that thought, I fell backwards onto the towel again and covered my eyes with my arm, trying to block out the intense rays of light.

-

Narrator's POV.

-

Casey strolled barefoot along the gorgeous beach. Though she missed her text books and studying with a mug of steamy hot chocolate and a robe wrapped around her shoulders, she knew that it was good for her – and her family – to finally be able to go on vacation and just take a _break_.

She paused, gazing out at the breathtaking view of the aquamarine colored water, and watched as a school of small, colorful fish swam away from the shore. The small waves gently lapped at her feet and the sun made her skin glow with radiance.

The temperature was still increasing, and the only shade available at the moment was the small forest of palm trees, a bit away from the edge of the gleaming water. As much as she desperately needed a drink or to cool down, Casey knew she couldn't leave the gentle coaxing feeling of the waves.

Casey glanced around again, realizing she had allowed herself to fall into a trance. She squinted, seeing someone lying in the sand with an arm over their face. She couldn't recognize the person; the arm was covering too much.

She tip-toed closer, not wanting to disturb the wonderful peacefulness or the mysterious person's sleep. Yet as she slowly creepy closer to the person, she could tell by the swim trunks that it was her _absolutely wonderful_-coughcough- stepbrother.

But something was off. Was his skin supposed to be practically glowing red? Casey gasped at the realization that Derek hadn't put any sunscreen on before dozing off, and now…

_Now… he's going to be in a _lot_ of pain when he wakes up._ Casey giggled evilly, and took the chance to snap a picture for – err – "future references".

But as she gradually came out of her giggling fit, she realized that Derek was, in fact, only clad in his swim trunks, which barely hung on to his waist. Casey was sure that the only thing still holding the pair of shorts up was the ground and gravity.

She also noticed how muscular yet lean his arms were, and how perfectly proportionate they were as well.

And the way his hands were tucked under his head and his legs were crossed almost made him look… somewhat cool in her eyes.

_Oooohh no no no no no. You so did NOT just think that, Casey! He's your STEPBROTHER. The one who endlessly tortures you and mocks you, the one who is the BANE of your entire existence!!_

Casey shook her head, her auburn hair swinging wildly as her vision blurred from the fast movements. However, she didn't realize that Derek had woken up in the few seconds that she was still gaining composure.

"Jeez, someone got a lot of sand in their hair…" Derek muttered as he unfolded his arms and rubbed his eye groggily. Casey could only growl at his remark.

"Did I fall asleep? How long?" He yawned, as if still not satisfied with the short nap. He turned to Casey, expecting an answer, but instead he found her tripping over her own feet and quickly falling towards him. His instinct told him to reach out and catch her, so that's what he did.

* * *

_Stupid guy instincts._

Derek thought bitterly as he took in the current position of himself and his stepsister.

His hands were gripping her shoulders with a slight pressure while her body was flush with his, so close that he could almost feel every curve of her beautiful – _NO DEREK, BAD THOUGHTS. ESPECIALLY ABOUT CASEY; NOT COOL._ – body. Her hands were flat on the towel on either side of him, causing sand to pour into the small indents.

Their faces were only centimeters apart, and Casey's face was redder than a tomato and beet put together.

_One small movement…and we would be able to – _

Casey's thought was cut short as she felt a sudden weight on her head as water dripped down her face and now soaked hair. She screamed loudly, whipping her head around to see who had dumped a bucketful of water on her head. But as she was turning, her lips accidentally brushed against Derek's, causing them both to recoil in disgust and embarrassment.

"WHAT THE HELL?"

"Trust me; I did NOT want to kiss you, of all people, Case."

"URG! YOU'RE SO… SO… I need to get a few bottles of mouthwash." Casey muttered, not able to think of a good retort, and stomped off towards their temporary beach house, still stumbling a few times due to the soft sand.

Derek just stared after her for a few moments and shrugged. Casey could do whatever she liked, but…

Derek smirked.

Neither of them were going to forget this little… incident.

He realized that they never found out who had poured water on Casey, but a sudden high-pitched giggle that filled his ears was a tell-tale sign.

"Smarty! Get out here…" He growled playfully as Marti ran out from her hiding place in a nearby bush. Derek picked her up under the arms and swung her around in circles, her laughter flowing through the air.

* * *

"And he's just so… _infuriating_!!!" Casey whined for the hundredth time to her little sister Lizzie. The sisters were sitting on a beige chaise in the airy living room, each sipping a Shirley Temple from a tall crystal glass.

Suddenly, Lizzie gasped, and claimed she had to go to the washroom. _REALLY_ bad.

She hurried off down the long hallway, leaving Casey to her own thoughts.

Just as she was about to get up to rinse her glass, Casey felt two warm hands push her back down, and a warm breath beside her bare neck and shoulders. She shivered.

"I'm infuriating, huh?" Derek whispered in her ear. Casey could only shudder again at his husky tone. She felt a pair of soft, warm lips graze her cheek lightly and chastely.

Not needing any more clues, Casey already knew that it was the one and only Derek Venturi. But as she felt his body back away from her, she realized that she missed the warmth it provided, as opposed to the air conditioning that was set to more than a little chilly.

Casey whipped her head around to come face to face with Derek, who was currently sporting a very amused smirk on his face.

Flushing deep red from their contact, Casey jumped up from her seat on the chaise and stalked away to her temporary room without another word.

Derek could only chuckle to himself quietly as he noticed she had a little more nervousness in her steps.

* * *

So… how is it so far?? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review!! I ALWAYS appreciate your feedback.

--- MissAnniee


	2. Beyond Doing the Right Thing

Last time on Gone for the Winter…

"_I'm infuriating, huh?" Derek whispered in her ear. Casey could only shudder again at his husky tone. She felt a pair of soft, warm lips graze her cheek lightly and chastely._

Chapter 2: Beyond Doing the Right Thing

* * *

"CASEY. PLEASE. I don't even know how you guys SURVIVE living with each other around. The tension between you two is… well, let's not go there."

Lizzie sighed as she picked up yet another book from the stash that she snuck with her. Her current favorite was Twilight, although George and Nora didn't seem to agree with her on whether she should be reading a teen novel.

Anyways…

"I just—I don't know, I…" Casey gave up on her futile attempts of finding the right words.

"What should I do, Liz??? It was just so… so… _weird_ and… somehow exciting; exhilarating."

"Do the right thing." Casey held her slight frustration in. Could she possibly reply with a more vague answer?

"Oh, I am SO beyond doing the right thing." Casey sighed loudly, but her reply was met with Lizzie's silence. She was too engrossed in her wonderful book. After all, it starred Edward Cullen.

Casey only mumbled something barely audible and buried her head deeper into the off-white down pillow.

"What was that?" Lizzie asked her older sister half-mindedly.

"Nothing… I think I'll just leave you to read your precious book in peace, Liz." With that, Casey left in search of a light snack before dinner. She was still utterly upset about what had happened both on the beach and in the living room, but since she usually studied if she was upset, she had to resort to pigging out on crackers and vegetables.

_This would be so much easier if George would just let me bring my textbooks! And I was planning on reading ahead for Chem too…URG._

Casey plopped her butt down on the beige leather sofa across from the TV, but didn't bother to turn the TV on. She sunk a little further down her seat as she came close and closer to the realization that maybe… just _maybe_… she liked that kiss.

Growling, Casey shoved the thought out of her mind. C'mon. This was DEREK she was thinking about. Whoa. Did she just say that she thought about DEREK? Eww, no way. Anyways though, how could she have possibly, even _remotely_ enjoyed that contact of the lips?

_Oh, NO WAY. I HATED THAT KISS. IT WAS ENTIRELY HIS FAULT!! HOW MY LIPS ARE TAINTED BY HIS DEREK-NESS!!_

Shoving a few more whole-grain crackers into her mouth, Casey pulled out a magazine from under the pile that caught her attention, and began to flip through it. She wanted to get her mind off of Derek, even if for just tonight, because apparently there was going to be a bonfire on the public beach tonight, and she wasn't planning on missing it.

But somewhere in the hassle to forget about Derek…

She ended up thinking about him even more.

* * *

"EDWIN! FOOD! BRING ME SOME." Derek yelled to his little brother who he loved oh-so-much. Can't you tell?

Derek liked food. It made him feel better.

Unfortunately, Derek doesn't like being in a bad mood.

However, he was, due to that – err – incident earlier today.

So, in order to make himself feel better, he ate.

See how that works?

Minutes later, the door was kicked open by Edwin, his arms full of fattening, greasy, sugary food… all for Derek to immerse himself in.

After collecting all his food and kicking Edwin out of his temporary room – hey, he still needed his privacy – he lied back onto the bunched up comforter at the head of his bed.

_Why did I even _do _that?? It's not like I _like_ Casey or anything. Hell, if I can even respect her it'll be improvement._

Derek smirked at that thought, but the upturn of his lips started to lower as he started to question the fact of whether he likes Casey… in that way.

* * *

"Lizzie, Lizzie, Lizzie… you have so much to learn." Edwin sighed from his seat on the comfortable bean bag chair.

Lizzie lounged on the large bed, auburn hair sprawled out on the soft pillows, still attempting to decipher what Edwin meant by 'they're so far beyond friends, it's not even funny'. What in the world did he mean? Casey and Derek… well, she wouldn't even consider them acquaintances. More like… enemy-siblings.

Heck, they could hardly stand to be in the same room together for more than half an hour!

(Not exaggerating here… this one time, Casey had to leave because Derek came into the kitchen for some orange juice.)

"Ahem…" Edwin cleared his throat loudly from the soft, pillow-like seat.

And as if reading Lizzie's mind, he pulled out a large piece of colored paper from underneath a binder, labeled 'Dasey Relationship Status'

"Who… who's Dasey?" Lizzie blinked, still puzzled by what the graph showed despite the title.

"It's Derek and Casey put together!! You know… instead of a 'C' on Casey it's a 'D' for Derek! Sheesh, I _really_ need to get started on teaching you this stuff…"

Edwin sighed jokingly, and whipped out a random pointer stick seemingly out of nowhere. He jabbed the long stick at the very beginning of the graph.

"This," he explained, "is where Derek and Casey were at about a year ago. Violent, vulgar, constantly pranking, insulting and clawing each other's eyes out."

"Now," he continued, shifting the point over to the tallest point. "This is where Derek and Casey are at right now, about a month ago. They are able to tolerate each other when necessary, and have you noticed how well they work together??"

Edwin smirked as a look of realization dawned on Lizzie's face.

"Edwin… do you – do you know what this means??" Lizzie's eyes lit up with a new-found excitement. Edwin nodded and smirked.

"It means that they…" She began.

"Like each other." He finished, and the two shared a conspiratorial grin.

* * *

"George… I'm starting to wonder about Casey and Derek."

"Oh, you mean their… well, for lack of better terms, UST?" George chuckled and wrapped an arm loosely around Nora's shoulders.

Nora kicked the scorching sand beneath her feet and looked up at her husband.

"Yeah, think they'll ever… resolve their little 'problem'?" Nora grinned slightly at George.

His eyes bulged out and his mouth opened to form an 'O' shape, gaping similarly to a fish.

Nora burst out laughing at his expression.

"Just kidding."

* * *

So… that's it for this chapter!!

And everyone in their family knows already… their chemistry is just too awesome to resist writing about!!

Oh, and reviews are ALWAYS appreciated!!

---


	3. A Little Less than Perfect

I think this one is gonna be the last chapter… I don't really feel like writing a long story.

So anyways…

Last time on Gone for the Winter…

"_Yeah, think they'll ever… resolve their little 'problem'?" Nora grinned slightly at George._

_His eyes bulged out and his mouth opened to form an 'O' shape, gaping similarly to a fish._

_Nora burst out laughing at his expression._

"_Just kidding."_

Chapter 3: A Little Less than Perfect

* * *

"I'm baaaack!" Casey sang as she brushed off her bare legs of the wet sand sticking irritatingly to her ankles and feet.

She dropped her sandals carelessly beside the doormat, too tired to even tuck them away neatly. She flopped down on the couch and grabbed an apple and magazine, relaxing after a full day at the beach.

"Hey, Spacey, wanna play a game? The rest of the family's in town and they're actually staying there a night…" Derek's voice came from the second storey of the house, and got louder as he descended the stairs, relieved to finally have someone to talk to.

Casey's eyes wandered over to Derek, and she realized that he was currently wearing a modified version of his pajamas. He had a dark grey sleeveless shirt on, showing his lean yet nicely sculpted arms and a pair of off-white cotton shorts that reached just below his knees.

And… a hat, because for some reason, Derek had the urge to wear one. Indoors.

Casey blushed at the sight of his arms.

_They're actually… really… really… toned-- NO! BAD. Bad thoughts, Casey!! Snap out of it!_

She immediately averted her eyes to Derek's face, which now sported a wide, knowing, _amused_ smirk. Casey could, at this point, only look away, at anything _but_ Derek.

"So anyways," He began again, letting his smirk drop a bit. "You wanna play a game? My rules, of course."

And Casey, who'd long ago, developed an undying competitive nature against Derek, agreed with a smug smile.

* * *

"AHA! Looks I win again, McDonald." Derek smirked as he did his ridiculous victory dance. For the _sixth_ time. _In a row._ Casey was not happy.

Casey only growled in reply and stripped off her tank top and jean shorts, only leaving her in her bathing suit.

Ah, the cruelties of Strip Poker.

Because it was against Derek, Casey refused to back down from the challenge. Unfortunately for her, poker wasn't exactly her thing.

And playing by Derek's rules was proving to be slightly harder than Casey first let on. Apparently, if you lose, take off two articles of clothing, but thankfully accessories count. They were still early into the game, but Casey already removed her earrings and headband and choker.

Err… now her tank top and shorts as well.

Derek, on the other hand, was doing quite well. He only lost once, meaning he took off his shorts and hat, leaving him in his sleeveless top and boxers.

Casey glanced over her two cards at Derek. She couldn't afford to lose this one, which would mean she had to do any one thing Derek wanted, and she'd be left with no clothes on.

She glanced back and fourth from her pocket cards and the river.

_Hmmm… maybe…maybe if there was a two…_

There were still a card left to be revealed in the river, and Casey was desperate for a way out. She slowly nudged a few more of her chips into the small pot.

Her eyes narrowed as she saw slight smugness flash across Derek's face as he removed the same amount of chips from his own pile as well. Derek took one card from the pile facing down and set it to the side, took another, and added it to the river.

Casey's eyes held a flicker of hope as she glanced at the card underneath Derek's hand. She saw two red hearts on the card, but when Derek removed his hand…

_Oh no. This is not happening. I can't… no… it's a three…_

Casey groaned, and threw down her cards in surrender, revealing a three of diamonds and five of spades. Unfortunately for Casey, Derek had exactly what he needed in order to complete a straight.

Casey reached behind her to pull the string off of her bikini top, but was stopped by Derek's horrified voice.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there, Case. That just meant the end of the game, cause I don't really want to see your ugly green scales and warts." Derek stuck out his tongue, emphasizing his disgust.

Casey growled.

"URG! DER-EK! I can't stand you!!! You're SUCH a… a… RETARD!!" She stood up quickly, stomping off towards the dark mahogany door leading out of Derek's room.

"What, no denial? Sheesh, no need to be so blunt about knowing you're secretly a witch-dragon, Casey…" Derek smirked and leaned against the wooden dresser behind him.

At this, Casey spun around and stomped back to Derek, leaving only inches of space between their bodies.

"Derek, if you _ever_ make fun of _any_ girl's body ever… you're going to regret it." She poked him in the chest and leaned even closer, so close that their noses were almost touching.

Derek almost winced at the force of her poke, especially with that stupid sharp nail digging into his chest…

Their faces were only inches apart, but Derek was the only one who seemed to notice. Casey, temporarily blinded by anger, couldn't care less.

She jabbed her finger at Derek's chest again.

"You are the biggest, most egotistical, retarded, stupid, lazy, greedy jerk I have _ever_ met!! And you, for some **weird** unknown reason, always end up chasing away all the guys that I have chances with!! What's _with_ you, and me dating guys??? Do I not have the right to do as I want anymore?? This IS a free country, Derek…"

-

Derek's POV

-

_Sheesh. Doesn't she ever shut up? And there she goes with the ADD thing again… how come every time she yells at me, she ends up screaming about an entirely different thing?_

Derek sighed inwardly, tuning back to Casey's fit.

-

Narrator's POV

-

Casey, for the _nth_ time, jabbed Derek.

"And ANOTHER thing: WHY do you HAVE to make my life so freaking MISERABLE?? You humiliate me on a daily basis with your immature pranks, _especially_ at school!! Oh, and your stupid _charms_. I know EXACTLY why girls just fall at your feet!! And your constant _FLIRTING_ annoys me to NO END because I'm always SO JEALOUS of those girls…"

Casey gasped.

Derek's eyes were bigger than dinner plates.

Derek smirked.

Casey blushed.

Derek chuckled darkly.

Casey clasped her hands over her mouth.

Derek peeled away her hands.

Casey's mouth formed an 'O' shape.

"You… you… you _like_ me." Derek accused.

"WHAT? No I don't. I was just trying to uhh… be protective." Casey defended.

Derek kissed her.

Casey moaned.

Derek licked her lips with his tongue, asking for permission.

Casey gasped and opened her lips wider.

Tongues battled, and lips moved in perfect sync.

Casey pulled away, out of breath.

Derek let go of his tight grip on her waist.

"You… you just _kissed_ me!! How _dare _you do that, Derek Venturi!! I mean, _sure_ I LOVED it, but you _kissed _me!! And… and…" She paused.

"Oh my god… I love you." She finally breathed out.

Derek only smirked and moved to wrap his arms around her again.

Boy, are they going to have a story to tell once they get back to Canada.

* * *

So, that's the end!! Did you guys like it? Feedback would be GREAT!

Personally, though, I thought the ending was wayyyyyyyy too cliché. Anybody else agree?

Be sure to press that little green button… right there at the bottom of the screen…

---


End file.
